Q: I really want to buy a home in the Northeast but the absolute most I can afford is $100,000. I really don’t want a fixer-upper or anything that “needs TLC.” What can I get for that price and where should I be looking?

A:  In the Multiple Listing Service Trend, there are 268 homes listed for sale today in Northeast Philadelphia for $100,000 and under. Out of those homes, there are 116 active listings that are noted as “Average +” continue reading »

Short dumping in industrial areas of Holmesburg and Tacony has community leaders worried about quality of life issues and fires. Photo/Steven Mitchell

This is the second in a two-part series about quality of life issues in Tacony and Holmesburg, and the neighborhoods’ approach to growing stronger together. You can read the first part here.

Short dumping is a problem all over Philadelphia, and in some Northeast neighborhoods, the issue is weighing down the community.

Short dumping is the illegal act of disposing trash and debris on a street or vacant lot. Industrial areas — like those along Torresdale Avenue and State Road in Holmesburg and Tacony — tend to be dark at night, which allows for people to come and dump their trash and other items in this area.

The railroad tracks at James Street and Bleigh Avenue is a particular hotspot for short dumping. There, you’ll see trash and other debris, as well as abandoned tires. continue reading »

Tacony business owner Mark Whited is part of the community effort to revitalize the Torresdale Avenue business corridor. Photo/Raymond Boyd

This is the first in a two-part series about quality of life issues in Tacony and Holmesburg, and the neighborhoods’ approach to growing stronger together.

With similar missions but different approaches, Tacony and Holmesburg are seeking a better future for their residents. Tacony is taking a business-first approach, while Holmesburg is looking to take advantage of its history.

Both neighborhoods understand that they must work in collaboration to make their goals a reality as they try to stand as pillars of Northeast Philadelphia. continue reading »

George Tobin

A Tacony man is in police custody after a series of crimes at an East Falls school.

George Tobin, 40, of the 7100 block of Keystone St., is being charged in connection to five harassment and indecent exposure incidents on or near the campus of Philadelphia University. continue reading »

There’s sun in the forecast and cleaning supplies await.

The Tacony Civic Association is organizing Saturday’s clean-up of Disston Park, and more volunteers are sought to help spruce up the area around Keystone and Disston streets.

Those interested in helping out can plan to be there at 10 a.m. A couple hours’ worth of work will be rewarded with a light lunch. Contact the Tacony Civic Association with questions.

Smith’s Hardware owner Sheila Glassman serves a customer during Tacony’s Spring Shopping Day. Photo/Tiffany Goforth

Tacony residents and business owners are trying to revitalize the Torresdale Avenue business corridor by implementing new projects in the community. The Historic Tacony Revitalization Project is a big community project headed by the Tacony Community Development Corporation.

Alex Balloon, corridor manager of the Tacony CDC, coordinates all the activities and helps implement the projects that happen in the neighborhood.

Saturday’s Spring Shopping Day was one such initiative. Eleven businesses participated in the Spring Shopping day on April 13 which corresponded with Love Your Avenue Clean-up Day on Torresdale Avenue and the city’s annual Philly Spring Cleanup event. continue reading »

Castor Gardens residents cleaned up Max Myers Rec Center during the 2012 Philly Spring Cleanup. Photo/Michelle Alton

Is there a spot in your neighborhood that needs cleaning?

For those looking to volunteer, the Philly Spring Cleanup website has the full list of sites for the annual citywide clean-up event.

All cleanups scheduled for Northeast Philadelphia will be posted here, below. The clean-up day is April 13. continue reading »

Harlem Globetrotters Fatima Maddox and Brawley Chisholm teach Planet Abacus students some skills along the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. NewsWorks Photo/Kimberly Paynter

Two members of the Harlem Globetrotter’s basketball team walked across the Tacony Palmyra Bridge this afternoon to speak to students at Planet Abacus Charter School.

Teammates Fatima “TNT” Maddox and Brawley “Cheese” Chisholm  dribbled and spun pink basketballs from N.J. to Philly to kick off the team’s season-long campaign against breast cancer.  continue reading »

Photo/Ryan McDonald

In 1887, the Stein family delivered flowers throughout Philadelphia via horse and buggy.

The horse and buggies might be gone, but more than 125 years later, Frankford Avenue’s Stein Florist is trying to maintain the same sense of professional and business ethnics the family founded the company on. But in a more 21st century kind of way. continue reading »

A would-be robber was shot dead Tuesday at Anna’s Deli in Tacony. Image/Google Maps

John and Anna Jukic will never forget their life-or-death struggle with an armed robber Tuesday night. A bullet hole in the stairwell of their Tacony delicatessen will serve as perhaps their most visible daily reminder.

The husband and wife said they have no plans to shut down Anna’s Deli, on the corner of Princeton Avenue and Jackson Street, in the aftermath of a shootout that left a purported hoodlum dead and the couple praising the neighborhood they call home. continue reading »